Sharing My Passion For All Things Theatrical

Tag Archives: Stephen Merchant

Stephen Merchant makes his West End debut in a revival of Richard Bean’s The Mentalists. I’m a huge fan of Stephen Merchant’s being an avid follower of his TV work ever since The Office. So I was looking forward to seeing him live finally. Previous readers of my blog will know I was hugely disappointed with Richard Bean’s One Man Two Guvnors . Would this play change my mind on him as a writer?

It’s a two-hander set in a grubby London hotel. Stephen Merchant and Steffan Rhodri are the protagonists Ted and Morrie. They’re close friends, with Morrie doing a favour for Ted when we meet them. They make an excellent choice of casting and bring their slightly unusual characters to life. As the play becomes more serious towards the end Morrie’s care and concern for Ted is quite movingly portrayed.

Steffan Rhodri as Morrie and Stephen Merchant as Ted

However the writing felt very “clunky”. Too often lines are in the script that are there simply for a laugh rather than as part of the organic text of the play. Too many of the lines feel contrived. Reading the programme Richard Bean admits that quite a bit of the material in the play is from his stand-up days. It shows far too easily and means it lunges from one stand-up gag to the next rather inelegantly.

It has some pathos which is quite touching but again its not developed enough for me, as it is building it’s interrupted for a gag. Which diminished any emotion that was building.

The actors give good performances, it’s just that the script doesn’t do their talents any favours. As I left I was glad to have seen it, but it will go in the “enjoyable enough night out but instantly forgettable” category of theatre for me.